Super Bowl power outage traced to relay device

New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - The cause of the power outage last Sunday
at the Super Bowl in New Orleans was an electrical relay device.

Power at the Superdome was lost during the third quarter, causing a delay of
34 minutes. About half of the building's lights went out.

Entergy New Orleans on Friday said the device was specifically installed to
protect the Superdome equipment in the event of a cable failure between the
switchgear and the stadium. The relay device triggered, signaling a switch to
open when it should not have, causing the partial outage.

The device has since been removed.

"While some further analysis remains, we believe we have identified and
remedied the cause of the power outage and regret the interruption that
occurred during what was a showcase event for the city and state," said
Charles Rice, president and chief executive officer of Entergy New Orleans.

The company said the relay device worked without issue during the Sugar Bowl,
New Orleans Bowl and the Saints' regular-season finale against Carolina.